Over the past few years, Denver has grown into a true foodie city. From the many restaurant chains that got their start in Colorado, to the increasing number of award-winning fine dining restaurants, the food scene has become diverse, and, as a result, the state has become the ideal location for food market research companies like ours.
Colorado’s Eat Out Culture
Anyone who has visited Denver knows how important good restaurants (and good beer) are to the average Coloradan. The state has a strong culture of eating out, which explains the incredibly high number of restaurants and bars in the state — 11,247 in 2015 according to the Colorado Restaurant Association.
Also, more than twenty successful restaurant chains call Colorado home. For example, Quiznos, Red Robin, and Chipotle all either got their start in Colorado or are based here.
Denver Restaurant Sales Are Soaring
Denver is ranked number four in the United States for restaurant sales growth. It only comes in behind Riverside, California, Minneapolis, and Phoenix.
To break down the numbers, this means that more 2 million restaurant meals are served in Colorado every day. This also means that in 2016, more than $11.6 billion was made from Colorado restaurant sales. (Source: Colorado Restaurant Association) That means our market research respondents likely eat out often, and that’s exactly who we want sharing insights in our focus groups and taste tests.
Colorado Food Industry Has Large Impact
In 2016, an estimated 268,400 people were employed by the food service industry in Colorado. This means that restaurants made up 10 percent of the state labor force last year.
With such a large portion of the state labor force belonging to restaurants alone, it is no wonder that several food market research companies have decided to make Colorado their home base, including Food & Drink Resources.
The images featured originally appeared in this infographic about Colorado being ideal for culinary market research.